The Daily Put-Writer: A Smarter Way to Sell Puts

By Lawrence G. McMillan

At McMillan Analysis, our approach to selling naked puts is grounded in data, probability, and risk management—not gut feelings or "favorite" stocks. Each trading day, we apply a rigorous screening process to identify the highest-quality put-write candidates, designed to strive for consistent returns while minimizing downside risk.

Our process begins with a mathematical filter using expected return—a statistical measure of potential profitability over many trades. While this isn’t a forecast of individual trade outcomes, it helps us target setups with the best risk/reward profiles. From there, we screen candidates using a series of criteria:

• High Expected Return: We eliminate trades that look "too good to be true," typically driven by events like earnings or news-driven volatility.
• Strong Probability of Profit: We favor trades with a 90%+ chance of success and annualized returns of at least 24%.
• Implied Volatility Percentile: We avoid puts when implied volatility is too low, as future spikes could increase risk.
• Price & Liquidity: We prefer options with meaningful premium (typically above $0.20) and shorter expirations (1-2 months).
• Technical Support: A stock in a steep downtrend is a no-go. We look for clear support levels above the strike price.
• News Awareness: Earnings reports, legal issues, or regulatory events are red flags unless thoroughly understood.

This systematic process narrows a large field of candidates down to a small number of high-quality opportunities that we believe are worth considering.

Today's Candidates

Here are today’s top candidates from The Daily Put-Writer, selected using our strict screening criteria:

Want a daily list of put-writing candidates—plus trade recommendations, chart analysis, and risk metrics?

Whether you're an experienced options trader or just starting to explore put-writing, The Daily Put Writer gives you an edge by cutting through the noise and focusing on statistically sound trades. Our goal isn’t to chase the hottest names—it's to consistently find high-probability opportunities backed by data, not guesswork. If you value discipline, risk management, and results, this service was built for you.